The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-06-05
BILL NYE ON HIS TRAVELS.
The Effect of the announcement
Commerce Law"

than ever before in the history of the
country. Eating houses, dining cars
and hotels seem to suffer most. A few
days ago had the pleasure of riding
from st. Paul to Chicago and from
Chicago to New York, over one of the
fluent railway lines in each instance
and I could not shut my eyes to the
fact that the inter state commerce law
has made a difference. From Cleve-
land to Buffalo I rode in g special car.
It was the special sleeping car Aber-
deem, occupied by myself end suit. l
had a conductor, porter and brake
man to do my bidding, and the whole
car was mine, mine alone. II was
pleasant at first but finally it seemed
lonely so 1 called the porter anG en-
gaged him in conversation. He said 1t
had been that way good deal during
the month of April. One day he
said that he and spotGer sat and glared
at each other all the way from Elkhart,
Ind, to Syracuse, n. Y. He told me
that it was time for memory and for
tears. Sleeping cars. he stated, have
been for years the hOtbed of the annual
pass. 1t is for that reason that sleeper
after sleeper is being side-tracked- He
was a bright, intelligent young man
with clear, olive-ol complexion, and
when l left him [ wrung out his hand
for him and gave him a small piece OF
money which l hope he will expend
wisely.
also conversed with the train boy,
sometimes coarsely and incorrectly
called 1.-The peanutter." He came into
my special car to afford me an oppor
tunity to speculate in a box
of choice figs and an armful
of papers covered pronouns, Including
81. Thou" "He, ""Me," AShe," and
Tt" He heaved sigh when l spoke
of the new law, and sitting down beside
me, he looked sadly into my open in
genious face, while he rested nine Or ten
dollars worth of books on my knee:
Yes" he said, inserting soiled
thumb in the corner of his eye in search
of a cinder, ait is an erie of financial
depression. People that pay their fare
bring their dinner, ride in the day
coach, and sleep with their mouths
open. They buy nuthin'. In fact no
body travels now unless it is a case OF
life and death. Then they take a hard
boiled egg and a blanket and borrow
the papers. And now | see some sar-
dine from Snaggsyiile says that under
the iuterstice commerce law a peanut
ter has no right to ride free anymore
than anybody else, not being rail
road employee! I'm tired of it. [ can sit
and see my figs grow old on my hands.
Just look at the lines of care on that
box of figs! Two weeks ago l had to
take all the prizes out OF my
candy packages, aud sell 'em for
what l could get. You noticed didn't
go through the cars to day putting a
fresh pecan meat in eVerybody's lap?
That's because I can't afford it. The
injustice and clear-cut cussedness OF
this new law is invading every home
and desolating every hearthstone in the
land. Lemme sell you The Girl De-
teetiVe; or, Hunted to Halifax and
Back Again Without Feed or Water,
by the author of Only Dark Blue
Pill"
Then the train conductor came along,
dreamily punched my ticket and asked
me if 1 wanted dinner at Buffalo. L
said did.
"Then there are two of you to dine
there to-day" he said, for there is
another man in the next to the last
sleeper, who will join you in the dining
hall. Generally we have six tables full
on this train for the eating house at
Buffalo. To-day there is two men on
the whole train who will dine there, and
there is no profit in either of them, fol-
| the other man is even more gaunt than
you are.
ITO what do you attribute all this p
asked in quiet, grammatical manner
| ~ W. ~ OF
"Oh, it is the new announcement COM
MERGE law. Go into the dining room a.
Buffalo and you will see about twenty
walters, cooks and clerks, and about
two guests at the table, counting your
| self, while no doubt an old gentleman
will take a stand up at the lunch
counter, consisting of cup of coffee
for which he pays 10 cents, and {
doughnut, which he brings from home
in his pocket and which has little fake!
OF tobacco on it. An eating house mar
from the west rode through herr
yesterday on an old and totterinl
scalper's ticket, aud he said that within
thirty days he had been compelled tt
mortgage his house to the head cook
and the barkeeper had a chatte
mortgage on the billiard tables and ba
fixtures. He claimed that the life o
an eating-house man was anything
but happy anyhow, and now it was
great big wicked world.
Formerly" he said, "people cam
and ate, kicked about the price an
went away. Now they stay at home.
"But what do you think is going
be the ultimate effect of this laW?"
asked, in an Evolutionary tone OF voice
why, l don't believe that in yea
from now there will be enough of it lei
to wad gun. Ignorant people thin
that as the law is obnoxious to the raj
roads it ought to be big thing for tn
people, but that is not always the case
And look a. the inconsistency of tn
thing. Years ago Congress gave th
big grants to the railroads to build the
lines into new and undeveloped terri
tory west. Now the west has got
move east and grow [ =th the cour
try"
do not yet know exac. 'hatcoCr r;
, to pursue, but there viii meetir
Lfor the purpose of taking S, ne definl
action ia the matter here in New Yol
this week. The meeting will be largel
attended by the railway eatlng-houl
men, the theatrical aud travelling mel
the sleeping and dining car people ar
myself. BILL ME-.